The Midnight Circus
by dragonsHourglass
Summary: Every year, a travelling circus made it's way to a small place titled Maple Valley, where it would come to life every midnight for three nights. This is the tale of the Midnight Circus.
1. Prologue

**This is actually a collaboration between me and my little sister! She comes up with the plot and I simply put it into words. She's super excited about this fic, and tells me she's already got plenty of ideas for the future. **

**But for now, enjoy the prologue!**

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Every year, a travelling circus made it's way to a small place titled Maple Valley, where it would come to life every midnight for three nights.

The members of this circus were all unique in their own respective ways, and each had a unique story to tell, or reason to be there.

Aradia Megido always heard voices of the dead. They spoke to her about whatever was on their minds, whether it be mourning their lives, or mutters of revenge. But one must never open themselves to spirits as much as poor Aradia did. They overpowered her mental state and nearly drove her mad with their never-ending whispers. Occasionally they'd even take control over her body, and force her to do things she deeply regretted. It was on the brink of insanity that the Midnight Circus offered its hand and reached out to Aradia. From then on, she worked as a psychic who spoke with the dead, and had those who had lost loved ones speak to their friends and family once more.

Tavros Nitram came from a family of abusers. He was beaten harshly, and to the point where he lost use of his legs. Little Tavros dreamt big, however, and he would dream of one day being able to soar the skies on wings made of silk. He was convinced faeries existed, and that their small acts of helpfulness were what helped him survive each day. When faeries continued to not show as much as the sparkle of a wing as it fluttered, he fell into a worse pit of depression, slowly losing his belief in the small, winged women. When he moved out into his own home, he found he had a great amount of trouble finding a job. When the Midnight Circus swung around, looking for workers, Tavros was accepted immediately. From that moment, he soared through the air, shot from the cannonball, doing tricks.

Sollux Captor and Terezi Pyrope were childhood friends. They instantaneously bonded when they met and found out they both shared imperfect eyesight. Terezi could only see vague outlines of what was before her, and colors presented themselves in a brighter fashion than was usual in the average human's line of sight. Sollux was completely colorblind, but he often had trouble distinguishing one object from another if their colors were similar. The two were bullied constantly throughout their childhoods, giving Terezi a fiery passion for equality, and Sollux a mental disorder or two. After years of friendship and pain suffered together, it was extremely difficult to separate the two, even just to go back to their respective homes. One night the pair attended one of the Midnight Circus' shows, and both found it a lovely place away from those who liked to hurt them. They gained jobs as acrobats, flying through the air, flipping and turning in bright garments.

Karkat Vantas had a temper so hot it was unlike any others'. He would get in plenty of trouble both in school and at home for his loud voice and his imaginative insults decorated by colorful language. The only way he could figure out to vent was to resort to violence. For a few years, and for the entirety of his life living under the same roof as his dear mother and father, he would mostly take his anger out on any unlucky wall that happened to be in front of him. But as he grew older, and into his adult years, his unwelcoming fists found their way into a few people's unsuspecting faces. When the Midnight Circus came to his rainy town, they gave him a smile, despite his hostility toward the people there. He then found his life threaded into the Circus', as the knife thrower, where he hurled little daggers at the blind girl and her also sight-impaired companion, all the while leaving them scratch-free.

Nepeta Leijon was always an outsider, left to her own little world of imaginary cats. At home, she would play with her actual felines, as they were the only friends she could find, no matter how hard she searched for human ones. After a few years into her teen stage, she discovered she had a certain way with cats. She could almost train them, similar to how one would treat a dog. However, unlike dogs, the cats would listen to her, and only her. Everyone who knew her spread rumors about her being a "crazy cat lady" so early in her life. While Nepeta was convinced there was absolutely nothing wrong with the life lived alone, with a horde of cats running around, she still grew herself some courage, and stomped any negative rumor about herself flat. When she met the Midnight Circus, they fell in love her strong spirit and her way with certain animals. Before she even graduated high school, she joined as the lion tamer, claiming the calm beast was her best friend.

Kanaya Maryam could see the near future. And genuinely, too, rather than those fake women who give those who ask a load of horseshit they thought up a moment before. If Kanaya closed her eyes and though for a moment, images would come to her mind. Blurry, fuzzy images. Sometimes they involved Kanaya herself, and in others she had never seen the subject. She watched deaths that were going to happen five minutes later, and she watched men propose to their loved ones. Lovely Kanaya felt she should never tell anyone of her power, as she feared to be thought of as insane. She foresaw the arrival of the Midnight Circus, and watched herself tell people's futures, dressed in draped clothing. When the Circus did, indeed, come around a day later, she joined with a kind smile, as she saw herself doing. She also worked on costumes, as sewing was an old hobby of hers.

Vriska Serket's life was not a pleasant one. Her house burned down a total of three times throughout her childhood. The first time, the flames took her pet dog, the second, nothing, and the third time, her left arm and eye, and all the skin in between. She was relentlessly made fun of, and her school grades suffered worse than anyone else's, though she was in fact, the brightest. To let go of her anger and hatred of the world, she turned to her one fear, and the thing she hated most: fire; to make herself feel stronger. She learned how to spin it, do tricks with it and breathe it. Vriska tended to be more hostile towards other humans, but when the Midnight Circus reared its head in her direction, she found they appreciated her remarkable skill over the deadly flames, and they took her in as one of her own, having her demonstrate her control over the very same thing that stole her arm and her happiness.

Equius Zahhak came from a perfect family. The very best was demanded of him, always. He was expected to gain perfect school grades, and to be looked up to by everyone. Because of the expectations, he developed an obsession with physical strength, as in his warped mind, the stronger one was, the better they were. Equius, in fact, lived up to his family's demands, and became better than anyone else who spoke to him, or so he thought. However, whenever he did something without a successful result, he broke down, and he questioned his entire perfect existence. When the Midnight Circus ventured to his town, it comforted him and offered him a place where he would be perfect no matter what he did. He joined the staff of the Circus as the typical strong man, lifting amazingly heavy objects for all to observe.

Gamzee Makara did not come from a healthy background. His entire family was very substance-dependent. His father was violent, his mother was cruel. At the beginning of his secondary school years, his mother overdosed, and passed away. The last thing she ever said to Gamzee was an insult shot in his general direction. His father grew to taking home any young woman who had drunk too much to be in her right mind. Despite the hell that resided in his home, Gamzee forced himself to keep positive spirits. He smiled and laughed whenever he could. He even took to painting his face like a clown's, as if to enforce the false cheeriness of his demeanor. The one thing that mattered to him was to keep others happy, and make sure that no one had to go through what he did. The second he entered the Midnight Circus, he knew it was where he belonged. There, he could make others laugh.

Eridan Ampora was rich and perfect. He was always known as "that snotty kid with too much money". Despite his wealth and his flawless appearance, Eridan had no friends. He never managed to find any, and he was always left alone. Of course he lied to his parents, and said he did have them to keep up his reputation. Whenever he had spare time, he resorted to burying his nose and imperfections in books. He grew to obsess over the magic in his books, and he would often fantasize about being a wizard himself, fascinated with the concept. He decided to look into fake-magic tricks, as they were the closest thing to real magic he could get. He mastered every trick in every book he owned by the time he graduated, though he was still by himself. When the Midnight Circus offered him a place to truly be magic, he accepted it immediately. He worked as the magician, learning a few tricks that were a little less scientific along the way.

Feferi Peixes came from a famously wealthy family. The Peixes family owned many a company, and were well-known worldwide. Little Feferi, stuck as the younger of two daughters, never had much of an interest in the family's businesses. She was very independent from a young age, working small jobs to earn her own money as soon as she was old enough to. She never took any of the money her mother or sister offered her, preferring to live like the average woman instead. Feferi soon grew an interest in all things involving water. She studied marine biology and joined the swimming and diving teams. She was the statewide champion for diving, though she never really found the interest to move on to nationals. Feferi enjoyed her life, but eventually she found herself bored with being normal, though she refused to move back to be a proper Peixes. She found her opportunity in the Midnight Circus, and they let her join as the diver, where she flipped and turned from extreme heights to land neatly and painlessly in the small body of water.

****The twelve all became close friends, enjoying their work immensely. Though the backstories are only just the beginning...


	2. Chapter 1

**This is probably going to be the only chapter this happy.**

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John Egbert grinned to himself as he placed his father's vacuum cleaner back in it's rightful spot in the hall closet. He had invited his three closest friends over for a night while his father was on a short, three-day business trip. Of course, John did not expect his little party to be one that one stereotypically throws while their parental figures are away. He simply wanted time to spend with his friends. Plus, he did think that his father would appreciate the suddenly clean house upon arriving back home.

As John turned to relax and wait for his friends, the doorbell rang. _Perfect timing_ he thought to himself cheerfully. He pulled open the front door to reveal a young woman in a long black skirt, her lips painted darkly to match. The short blond hair kept in control with a deeply colored headband and her clever violet eyes confirmed the woman's identity as Rose Lalonde.

"Good evening, John." Rose smiled as John greeted her and let her across the threshold and into the warmth of his house. Snow fell lightly outside, some flakes still lay gently in Rose's hair.

Glancing around John's empty home, she asked, "Oh, am I early?"

"No, I think you timed yourself perfectly." John replied with a grin.

Rose's mouth quirked upwards again. "Good." She walked over to the couch and sat down, admiring the cleanliness of the location. John sat beside her.

"So, how's the new place?" John asked. Rose had recently moved into her own apartment, leaving her alcoholic mother alone once and for all.

"It's wonderful, living alone is possibly the best thing that has ever happened to me." She admitted. "Mother was never the kindest woman I had the misfortune to know."

John frowned sympathetically. He had heard thoroughly on how Rose's mom had abused alcoholic substances, and about how Rose had to suffer through an emotionally exhausting relationship with her. The two made small conversation for approximately fifteen more minutes, the uncomfortable topic changing to simple things like book and movie genres. They were interrupted by a loud series of four knocks on John's door. John rose to answer it.

Standing in the doorway was a smiling woman, her green eyes bright and her long, messy hair done back against her casual clothing choice. The woman was Jade Harley, and she had known John since they were very young. She had been his very first friend.

"Hi!" she greeted simply, before inviting herself in. "Hi, Rose!" she waved a little to the violet-eyed girl on the couch, who returned the gesture kindly.

"Is Dave here, yet?" Jade questioned, referring to their final friend.

"Nah, knowing him, he's gonna be late." John answered, rolling his eyes.

"Again." Rose added, her tone amused. John nodded in agreement. Jade laughed a little, and plopped herself down next to Rose.

"So!" Jade said cheerily. "What should we do while we wait for Dave?"

"Well, Rose and I were talking about movies a minute ago. We could watch one until he gets here?" John proposed.

"Sure." Rose shrugged. "What do you have?"

John grinned. "We should totally watch a Nicolas Cage movie because Dave's reaction'll be funny."

"That's a stupid reason for watching a movie, John." Jade informed him. "Why do you even _own_ Nicolas Cage movies?"

"He used to be one of my favorite actors, remember?"

"Yeah." Jade said flatly. "I know."

John pulled _National Treasure_ out of the cabinet in which he kept his large collection of movies. Rose rolled her eyes and pulled her knitting materials out of the bag she had put by her feet.

Jade sighed and leaned back, crossing her arms in a movement of useless protest.

Halfway through Jade making fun of the actors (and John joining in as he saw he wasn't going to get to watch his movie in peace), the door abruptly opened, a tall blond man with dark sunglasses walking in. He took one glance at the television, said "Nope," and walked back out the door.

"Oh, no you don't!" Jade cried, jumping to her feet and rushing to fling the door open once more. "Dave, you get your ass back in this house and save me from John's horrid movies this instant!" she yelled at him, John bursting into laughter from the couch inside.

Dave turned back around to face Jade. "Jesus, Harley." he said, starting to walk back towards her and the house. "The entire neighborhood doesn't need to know I'm a douchebag."

"I think your very being advertises 'douchebag'." Rose commented, flicking her vision towards Dave as he walked back in.

"Oi." Dave warned, pointing at her for emphasis. "Untrue."

"Very true." John said, turning the movie off.

"Look who's talking." Dave lazily threw his backpack across the room, leaning against the back of the sofa.

"So, anyway." Rose glanced at each of her friends in turn. "All douche-y appearances aside, I have an idea for what we can do, or more correctly, where we can go. If you all agree, of course." She started putting the partially finished jade-green scarf and her other knitting supplies back away.

"Sure." John said. "I didn't have anything specific planned, so go ahead and tell us!"

"Have any of you heard of the Midnight circus?" Roses voice deepened, her mouth set in an unnerving smile.

"Isn't that that creepy-ass circus that only shows at midnight?" Dave warily asked.

"Yes!" Rose answered excitedly. "I have wanted to go since I was a little girl, but my mother never allowed it."

"Why not go?" Jade smiled. "Sounds properly scary." she waggled eyebrows at Dave, who they all knew was not as brave as he made himself out to be.

"I have money enough for the four of us." Rose added, digging around her bag once more. "I checked the prices for tickets and everything." She pulled out a significant amount of cash, starting to count it to make sure what she had in her hands was the proper amount.

"Dude, how expensive are the tickets?" Dave asked, staring at the thick wad of bills, "Or are those all just ones?"

"I've been saving for a while..." Rose admitted with a nervous smile.

"I think this is a good idea." John put in. "It sounds like fun! Plus, I haven't really been to any circus-y things since I was little!"

"I think you all are crazy." Dave said flatly.

"I think you're just scared." Jade grinned, leaning towards him.

"It'll be fun! Let's just go watch the clown do his thing, and the magician cut someone in half or whatever. It's not like there'll be any puppets or anything." John teased.

"Hey, shut up." Dave didn't exactly like his fears being advertised.

"So, the show starts at midnight, are we going? If so, we should leave soon." Rose said.

"I think we should go." Jade said cheerfully.

"I think so too." John agreed.

"Great." Roses mouth was still set in a smile, a warm one. She stood up, putting her coat back on. The other three of her friends followed suit. "We'll take the bus."

Outside was bitterly cold, snow still falling in small amounts, flakes gently landing and resting in the groups' hair.

The bus was a welcoming, warm contrast to the biting snow, with John offering to pay so they could just go sit down, much to the appreciation of Jade and Dave.

The only seats available were the sets of two towards the back end of the vehicle, a surprising amount of people for the time of night.

Jade and Rose sat a row in front of John and Dave, occasionally turning around to talk to them.

The ride to the location of the circus was about an hour long, and all four mourned the welcoming warmth of the bus as they stepped off.

They approached the building with the bright lit-up sign, advertising _The Midnight Circus! Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Starts at Midnight, ends whenever._

The four started to walk up to the door, before Rose noticed Dave wasn't actually with them.

"Dave?" she questioned, turning to face him where he stood, staring at the sign.

"I'm not going in there." he said simply.

Jade sighed exasperatedly. "C'mon, Dave." He just shook his head.

John took the initiative to walk over and hook a finger through one of Dave's beltloops. "Too bad." And he dragged Dave (with a bit of struggle) to the rest of the group, where Rose was already paying for tickets.

"Alright, let's go." A wide smile was present on Rose's face. It was obvious she was excited. Dave gave a groan of protest as they walked through the large doors into the theatre, but Jade slapped his arm to shut him up.

Rose and John were both eager to sit in the front row, and Jade managed to convince Dave to bend to their wishes.

They spent the next forty-five minutes talking amongst themselves, all expressing excitement in one way or another (or nerves, in Dave's case. He tried his best to hide them.) And then the large, green curtain rose to reveal a rather short, pale, bald man in nice white and green clothing.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Mister Scratch, and welcome to the Midnight Circus!"


End file.
